Holster



F. A. STELLA Oct. 10, 1961 HOLSTER Filed 001.. 22, 1959 lNVE/VTO FRANK. A .SIELLA A ORNEY United States Patent 3,003,670 HOLSTER Frank A. Stella, Lyndhurst, N.J assignor to The Huhley Manufacturing Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 22, 1959, Ser. No. 848,099 2 Claims. (Cl. 224-2) This invention relates to holsters for firearms, more particularly toy pistols, revolvers, or similar guns.

Heretofore, it has been necessary to make holsters for right and left hand use, thereby requiring difierent pocket patterns and extra manufacturing procedures. Also, a holster made for righthand use could not be used for lefthand use.

Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a universal holster which may be made from standardized parts conforming to the same pattern, thereby making it possible to more readily assemble manufacture, and also stock a single holster for receiving guns with their stock or handle poised for a right or left hand grip. Moreover, with a holster according to the present invention it makes no diflerence as to which end of the belt the holster belt loop is threaded onto, because, the simple act of mounting the holster on the belt will cause it to be correctly positioned and mounted.

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a developed blank for making the pocket of the holster.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of the holster illustrating, by dot and dash lines, the position of the stock and trigger guard of a firearm to show that the same holster may be used for left hand and right hand draws.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the construction shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom plan view of FIGURE 2.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

The improved holster includes in its organization a base 1 provided at its upper end with a belt loop permitting the holster to be threaded on the belt for suspension at either side of the user. The loop 2 is connected by a suitable fastening, such as indicated at 3, with a gun barrel receiving pocket sheath designated generally as 4. This pocket is formed from a blank 4 (FIG. 1) which includes the upwardly diverging side edges 5, a rounded convex bottom edge 6, and an upper edge provided at the corners thereof with attaching ears 7. Between the said ears 7 are provided notches 8 and 9 formed in part by the inner edges of the ears 7 and the upstanding intermediate gun holding lip 10.

The blank 4 of FIGURE 1 is folded into tubular form to provide the holster pocket 4, due to the fact that the opposite edges 5-5 are secured together by fastenings 11 which in turn secure the pocket to the base 1.

The notches 8 and 9 of the blank, provide, in effect, recesses for receiving the trigger guard G of the firearm, which, as usual, includes a handle or stock 5, the barrel being omitted in FIGURE 2 to avoid confusion of lines with the overlapped portions 55.

The pocket 4 presents a generally downwardly tapered appearance and is provided with an open end portion 12 through which the gun barrel may project.

It will, of course, be understood from FIGURE 2 that the holster is not intended to hold two guns, but'it is intended by the dot and dash lines to show that the handle or stock of the gun may be positioned so as to be readily grasped by the right hand or by the left hand, depending upon whether identical holsters are suspended from the right or left hand side of the wearers belt.

It is believed that the novelty, utility, and the economic factors resulting from the new construction will now be apparent, and provide what may be termed, in effect,

.a universal holster in the respect that because of the special construction a similar unit may be used for either right or left hand gun suspension and gripping with the advantages heretofore pointed out.

I claim:

1. A universal holster for selectively supporting a revolver type firearm in a position so that the stock and trigger guard is poised for right or lefthand grip, comprising, a base, a tubular sheath having overlapping edge portions disposed medially of the back portion thereof, means concealed by the sheath for securing the said edge portions to the base to provide opposite side walls for engagement by the barrel of the firearm, said side walls including opposite recesses of substantially equal depth at the top portion thereof to receive said trigger guard of the firearm when the stock thereof is placed in a selected one of said recesses.

2. A universal holster for selectively supporting a revolver type firearm in a position so that the stock and trigger guard is poised for right or lefthand grip comprising, a base, a tubular sheath including concealed edge portions secured to said base to provide opposite integral side walls of planar formation for selective engagement .by the barrel of the firearm, said sheath having opposite recesses of substantially equal depth at the top of said side walls to receive said trigger guard of the firearm when the stock thereof is placed in a selected recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 163,078 White Apr. 24, 1951 1,421,578 Schussler July 4, 1922 2,504,369 Adair Apr. 18, 1950 2,650,008 Morseth Aug. 25, 1953 2,832,519 Ojala Apr. 29, 1958 2,951,622 Heim Sept. 6, 1960 OTHER REFERENCES Stoeger Arms Corp. Catalog, 1959 edition, p. 183. 

